Evolution
by Idan
Summary: Cho reflects on change and perception after Blue Bird.


**Disclaimer**: I do not own nor make any money from The Mentalist. I merely devote hours and hours of my life to it.

**Author's Note**: While I enjoyed Blue Bird a lot, I didn't like that Cho was clueless about his friends and colleagues. I gave some thought as to how to account for it, and this is what I came up with.

**Evolution**

The thing about evolution is that it's gradual. You don't necessarily recognize it while it's happening. Even if it happens right in front of you.

That, I've decided, is why I didn't see it and Abbott did. I've known Lisbon and Jane for more than a decade. Seen them in some pretty bad times, some high stress situations. Seen them change, both individually and as partners.

They started out as two people thrown together by circumstance and the shared desire to solve one horrible case. They tolerated each other. Used each other.

Gradually they evolved into their own version of a partnership. It didn't look like anything I'd ever seen before, but it worked for them. They even confided in each other, as much as they confided in anybody. Two solitary individuals who trusted each other. Sort of. Within limits.

Yeah, they loved each other. Jane killed for the first time to save Lisbon's life, even though the guy knew stuff that could have gotten him closer to Red John. Lisbon took pile after pile of crap for Jane's sake. They were loyal to each other and they loved each other, fiercely and forever, like family.

But hell, Rigsby and I have loyalty and love, too. Brotherly love. I'd even say Lisbon and I have a brother-sister thing going. I'd be first in line with a baseball bat if somebody hurt her.

Jane doesn't know how close he's come to the beating of his life on more than one occasion. But I always understood that for him, the mission came first. He had mistakes to redeem, justice to mete out. That made sense to me. I'd have done the same.

When he vanished for two years, I knew Lisbon missed him, but she seemed okay, just bored. I figured after I got settled at the FBI, I'd talk her into applying and help her on board. I thought she knew that when she congratulated me on getting accepted to Quantico and told me it would be better for me if we didn't communicate for a while, since she was still under surveillance.

But leave it to Jane to barge in with a plan of his own. And typically, it looked like it was going to hell at first, but then everything ended up fine. And we got back to normal. Well, Jane normal.

He was unhappy about Pike, sure. Anything that interfered with his relationship with Lisbon was bound to upset him. She was still the most important person in his life, after all. She always will be, because he just won't trust anybody else.

I thought she chickened out big time leaving him to hear about her moving through the grapevine. I felt sorry for Jane when I realized she hadn't told him. Didn't stop him from solving the case at a glance, though, so I figured he'd be okay once he got used to the idea.

Of course, turns out she knew what she was doing. Only Jane would use a cold case to set up his plan to make her stay. God knows what he would have done with more notice.

Looking back, it's obvious he meant to seduce her. Swanky hotel, fancy restaurant...Abbott was right, women love that stuff.

But see, I was used to the two of them bickering and even arguing. A glass of water in the face was new, but only in scale.

Abbott worked his way through pretty much a whole bottle of red while he told me the version of Lisbon and Jane he saw. He had clues I didn't, like the fact that Jane wrote her from his hiding place—two or three times a week, sometimes. And Lisbon lied to the FBI about it, not to mention keeping it from me and the others. And that when Jane asked Abbott how he'd found him, he'd looked horrified to realize he'd gotten Lisbon in trouble. Abbott thought that was why Jane decided to come back and made such a fuss about getting Lisbon a job offer, to keep Abbott from charging her with aiding and abetting.

"The man has it bad," Abbott says as we sit in the lounge after dinner. "Shame he's been an idiot about it."

I ponder all this. But I just can't get past what I know of them. "I don't see it. They're like brother and sister. There's no way."

Then we get Jane's SOZ and the rest of the night is arrests and paperwork and a call to Abbott from the TSA. Abbott sends me to the airport to see what I can do while he grabs an hour or two of sleep.

This is not new territory. When Jane pisses off another agency, there's a certain amount of venting that has to happen before anything can get done. They won't let him go before morning, but if I listen to all the complaining and posturing now, when Abbott gets here they'll be ready to get rid of the whole mess before it escalates further.

So I spend the early morning hours arguing with TSA, both locally and on the phone with Washington. I grab quick naps between rounds, and around sunup they finally wake me to tell me I can see him after the other FBI agent is done.

Oh, good. Abbott has arrived to put us out of our misery.

They let me into the observation room. I want to hear Abbott telling Jane what an idiot he is.

But instead there's a guard banging on the window yelling, "Quit that!" And through the window, Jane leaning across the table on one leg.

Kissing Lisbon.

I feel my mouth drop open and close it.

Okay, not brother and sister.

And from the way she's smiling at him, she's not going to DC.

Somewhere along the way, they evolved. But I was still seeing the old them.

Time for another new normal.

This one might take some getting used to. I just hope they aren't going to make a habit of sucking face in front of me.

As I watch, Jane practically falls back into his chair. Lisbon jumps up to make sure he's okay and ends up in his lap with him kissing her scold away.

The TSA guy gets up and heads for the door, but I stop him. "It's okay," I tell him.

"I thought she was an FBI agent," he says.

"She is. She's also his partner."

"Huh. You guys all kiss your partners?"

I shake my head. "Just them. Took 'em 12 years to get around to it."

"Well they can't be doing that here."

I hide my smirk. "Then you better release him into my custody."

"Can't do that."

The door behind us opens, and Abbott enters. He takes in the situation and says, "Well, it's about damn time. Now maybe we can get some work done."

I doubt it. They're getting pretty hot and heavy in there. I'm not sure Lisbon realizes Jane is unbuttoning her shirt.

While Abbott and the TSA guy argue, I open the door. "Hey, guys."

Lisbon jumps, startled, but Jane's hold on her stops her from getting up. She blushes a deep red as she tries to come up with a response.

"Might want to button up," I tell her. "We'll be out of here in a few."

Jane cranes his neck to grin at me. "Thanks Cho."

"Thank me by keeping it in your pants til you get back to your room," I reply, then close the door.

Definitely not brother and sister. Horny teenage couple, more like it.

I bet they're going to be even more fun to tease than Rigsby and Van Pelt.

Which reminds me, I owe Rigs a twenty now, dammit. Wonder if he'll go double or nothing on a wedding date?


End file.
